The Heat is Passed, Now for the Weeds!
The greenhouse does not look like the above picture any more, but it is still full of plants in need of a home for the summer! Everything in the plant stand is 50% off, including hanging baskets. Help us empty out the plant stand before we close it up for the season! A lot of plants are looking tired in their pots, but as soon as they hit the ground with some new soil they'll be good as new! I see it happen all the time on the farm!
This rain has been a welcome sight after the hot and dry. Our plants loved it. The weeds loved it even more. Dry springs are nice because weed pressure stays down without much moisture to stimulate growth, but man, as soon as the rain came, the weeds shot up. I went from "we've got a good handle on the weeds heading into July" to "WE HAVE TO WEED EVERYTHING ASAP" within about 24 hours.
I had a feeling it would be the case, and even though I'll never get over my anxiety about weed pressure, we are actually in a pretty good place with weed management so far this year. Nothing can be as bad as my first year managing the farm. I thought I had a plan for managing weeds that year, but it turns out I was way over my head (literally in some parts of the farm). As awful as that year felt when the farm was drowning in weeds, I think about how thankful I am for that experience all the time. Once you're at the bottom, there is no where to go but up and it gave me the perspective I needed to run the farm with a level head.
Now when we have weeds I know what to prioritize and how to formulate a plan to get out from under them. I've learned when to make the call to terminate a bed that is facing weed pressure before it adds problems down the line. The worst part about a weedy year is that it doesn't end in the winter. If the weeds go to seed, then you can have problems for years to come. There is something called the "weed seed bank" which is essentially how many weed seeds and how many different types of weeds you have in your soil. Over the years we have worked to bring down our weed seed bank and even eradicted certain weeds from our farm (athough there are still plenty of weeds).
One of those weeds was Velvetleaf which is no longer an issue on our farm, but I know exactly when it became a weed. It was early on in my career and I thought the plant was cool and interesting looking. It had a soft furry stem, peanut butter cup shaped flower buds, and smelled vaguely like cat pee. Being curous, I let one grow to maturity. Silly me because it then went to seed and I had to deal with velvet leaf in our fields for years! We finally got a control on it and it is no longer a weed in our fields. Pig weed, galinsoga, and yellow not sudge are our most noxious weeds now, but every year I believe we get a better handle on them.
That's all for tonight. Recipes and harvest lists are below!
Summer Shares Week 3!
Another week of shares!
More crops come to maturity every week! Zucchini, summer squash, and fennel are new items for this week and cucumbers are right on the horizon! We started picking a new bed of lettuce so the heads are tender and delicious. Beets will be loose rather than bunched, baby greens were looking great during harvest today, and the peas are as sweet as can be. Lots to choose from this week!
Delivery Baskets
▪Arugula
▪Basil
▪Fennel
▪Kale
▪Garlic Scapes
▪Head Lettuce
▪Micro Greens
▪Peas
▪Radishes
▪Zucchini
Market Style Pickup
Members Select 8 Items
▪Arugula
▪Beets
▪Bok Choy
▪Chard
▪Fennel
▪Garlic Scapes (10th Item. Take what you can use. Will not be counted towards eight items in share)
▪Head Lettuce
▪Lettuce Mix
▪Microgreens
▪Kale
▪Salad Turnips
▪Spicy Salad Mix
▪Zucchini and Summer Squash
▪Broccolini OR Snap Peas
Herbs
9th Item, Members can select one herb to add to their share
▪Basil
▪Cilantro
▪Dill
▪Parsley
Loose Herbs
Take What You Can Use
▪Mint
▪Oregano
▪Sage
▪Thyme
Green Goddess Pasta Salad -- CLICK FOR LINK
My Favorite Recipe to use with Fennel!
Ingredients
▪Fine sea salt, as needed
▪2(9- to 10-ounce) packages cheese tortellini
▪1fennel bulb with fronds, tough outer layers removed (see Note)
▪1cup sour cream or plain full-fat Greek yogurt
▪1packed cup basil leaves
▪2tablespoons coarsely chopped chives
▪2packed tablespoons parsley leaves
▪2garlic cloves, peeled
▪3scallions, white and green parts
▪1tablespoon fresh lemon juice, plus more to taste
▪¼teaspoon black pepper, plus more for serving
▪2tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling
▪⅔cup sliced sugar-snap peas
▪1cup baby arugula
Instructions
Step 1
In a pot of heavily salted water, cook the tortellini according to the package directions.
Step 2
Make the dressing: While the water comes to a boil, chop enough of the fennel fronds to equal ¼ cup. Put the fronds in a blender. Thinly slice enough of the fennel bulb for ¾ cup, and set it aside. (Reserve any remaining fennel for another use.)
Step 3
Add sour cream, basil, chives, parsley, garlic, 1 scallion, lemon juice, ½ teaspoon fine sea salt and ¼ teaspoon black pepper to the blender with the fronds and purée until smooth. With the blender running, slowly drizzle in olive oil. Taste and add more salt or lemon juice, or both, if needed.
Step 4
As soon as the tortellini is done, drain it well and put it in a large mixing bowl. Immediately, while it’s still hot, toss in enough of the dressing to coat. Let pasta cool in the dressing, at least 20 minutes and up to 4 hours.
Step 5
Thinly slice remaining 2 scallions and add to bowl with tortellini. Toss in sliced fennel and sugar-snap peas. Drizzle with more dressing, tossing if needed.
Step 6
To serve, transfer to a serving bowl, gently toss in arugula, drizzle with more olive oil and grind more fresh pepper over.
Grapfruit Vinaigrette -- CLICK FOR LINK
This is a simple dressing that Rachel and I have been loving the past few months!
Ingredients
▪2 Grapefruits
▪1.5 Cups Extra Virgin Olive Oil
▪2 tablespoon Dijon Mustard
▪1 teaspoon Salt
Instructions
▪Juice the 2 grapefruits into a measuring cup.
▪Pour into mason jar and add olive oil. If grapefruits juice less than 1.5 cups of juice, pour less olive oil to make sure it’s equal parts.
▪Add all ingredients into the mason jar.
▪Shake for ~15 seconds until fully emulsified.
▪Enjoy!
Garlic Scape Pesto -- CLICK FOR LINK
Leaving in for an extra week while scapes are in season!
Ingredients
▪5 garlic scapes
▪1 medium lemon
▪1/2 ounce Parmesan cheese (about 1/4 cup grated)
▪1/4 cup raw or roasted, salted, shelled pistachios
▪1 packed cup baby spinach (1 1/2 ounces)
▪1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
▪1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
Directions
▪Trim the ends from 5 garlic scapes and coarsely chop. Finely grate the zest of 1 medium lemon until you have 1 teaspoon; juice the lemon until you have 2 tablespoons. Finely grate 1/2 ounce Parmesan cheese (about 1/4 packed cup).
▪Place the garlic scapes, 1/4 cup pistachios, and 1 packed cup baby spinach in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the blade attachment. Process until finely chopped, about 15 seconds.
▪Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add the lemon juice and zest, Parmesan, and 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt. Process until a uniform paste has formed, scraping down the sides of the bowl halfway through, about 15 seconds total.
▪With the motor running, stream in 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and continue blending as needed until the olive oil is fully emulsified and the pesto looks uniform, about 5 seconds.
Check out the Farm Store!
Veggies Stocked Fresh Every Friday!
Still lots of beautiful tulip bouquets plus lots of other delicious veg!
In the store this week:
Chard
Head Lettuce
Kale
Beets
Scapes
Lettuce Mix
Microgreens
Radishes
Turnips
Spicy Salad Mix
Fresh Herbs
Eggs
Ice Cream
and More!
Find Us at the Market!
All three of our markets are up and running now!
You can find our produce at:
Cheshire Medical Center in the Cafeteria
Thursdays 10am - 2pm
June through November
Jaffrey Farmers Market
Fridays 3pm - 6pm
June through October
Keene Farmers Market
Saturdays 9am - 1pm
April through October
